Last week I shared some of my new photos of wildlife and scenery from my May Patagonia photo tour. Now it’s time for the main attraction: pumas! This was the main goal for the clients that joined me on the Pumas of Patagonia tour, obviously, and everyone was rewarded with some amazing cat encounters.
I’ve uploaded the full gallery of 68 puma images from this trip to the photo archive. A short preview is below.
This female approached our group within 15 minutes of our initial entry into the national park. She walked within ten feet… not a bad way to start off a puma tour.
One of the puma families we saw included a mother with two seven-month-old cubs.
This was the same mother who lost all three young cubs during my 2016 trip, so it was nice to see her raising her next litter with more success.
Perhaps the highlight of the trip was seeing a family of pumas sitting in front of a gorgeous background during a late autumn snowfall.
Later in the trip, our first puma appeared again, this time in heat. She was calling out to let the boys know she wanted attention.
The female in heat attracted a couple of suitors. This younger male was rejected in short order. He walked out of a narrow canyon to find us standing there. Eventually he laid down in front of us to nurse his wounded ego.
The female rejected the younger male in favor of this big dark gray male. It’s the darkest puma I’ve ever seen. Our guides nicknamed him “Oscuro” (literally, “Dark”).
See the full Patagonia 2017 Pumas gallery here. You can also check out the Wildlife and Scenery gallery from this trip.
As you can see, the Pumas of Patagonia tour is pretty incredible. Want to join me in southern Chile in search of these magnificent cats and other wildlife? Learn more about the 2019 tour and get on the waiting list!
